Page 19 of The Madman's Nightmare
James answered, giving me the first glimpse of hope since the madness started. “Something he said about carrying her into the woods got me thinking, but I don’t want to say anything until I can flesh out my thoughts.”
I nodded, knowing sometimes my chosen brother needed to run everything through scenarios before he would make a call on something. And with my wife’s life on the line, I knew he would give this the most attention he’d ever given anything.
Lucian added, “We need to find the van. Maybe whatever was inside will lead us to the siblings.”
He began typing on his phone as I stared out into the black night. He had men who would help, and I was willing to give everything I owned if someone could return her to me.
The closer to Pierce Bluff, the more I had to think that we’d been on a wild goose chase, hoping the man who shot me had any information that would lead me to Elise.
But he was a dead end, and I felt like she was slipping through my fingers. And the further she slipped, the closer to true madness I got.
Chapter 10
Elise
Ididn’t know how long I’d been in the basement when I heard the door to the top of the stairs open. Pushing off the bed, I opened the worthless door and looked to see who was joining me. The expensive shoes were visible at first, and I exhaled as Bradon came into view. Not that he was any better than Kendra, but throughout the night, I kept seeing visions of her and Devlin together, laughing at me, and making plans to take my sons from me, and I’d want to claw her eyes out.
So, I was positive I would have an attitude with her, which would probably get me killed. Chuck’s training kept rolling though my brain and I did everything I could to remain calm so I could gather information.
Bradon was empty handed, and I worried I wasn’t going to get fed, but he offered a smile to me as he spoke. “Kendra had to run out, so I thought you’d like to eat upstairs.”
I looked up the stairs to the open door, and nodded before saying, “Thank you.”
He pointed beside him and, like an obedient pet, I went to where he indicated and waited. This seemed to please him and if I could use that to escape, then I would be as obedient as I needed to be. Even if I wanted to kick him in the balls for the condescending smirk on his face.
“Good girl,” he remarked and snapped his fingers as he turned and started walking up the stairs.
Halfway up, he turned and pointed beside him, so I hurried up the stairs behind him. We walked up the rest of the stairs andinto the kitchen and I looked around, seeing the sun starting to come up through the window over the sink.
“What time is it?” I asked and he looked at his expensive watch.
“Just after eight,” he answered and pointed at the table, “Sit.”
I walked over to the table and took a seat, keeping him in my line of sight as he pulled something out of the oven and walked over to me. Placing it on the table, I saw it was the same thing I’d eaten last and internally shrugged. Whatever it was, I needed to keep my strength up.
I looked up at him and asked, “May I start?”
The smile he gave me started scratching at the same memory that had eluded me all night. “Eat.”
He took a seat across from me as I picked up the fork and began to eat, trying not to inhale the food. His phone chimed and he pulled it from a pocket in his dress pants and read the message before he spoke.
“Kendra’s going to be away for a few hours.” I raised my eyebrows at his statement as I chewed another bite of sausage from the plate. “If you think you can behave, I’ll let you have some fresh air in the back yard.”
I nodded, hoping to see where we were so I could formulate a plan. “I’ll be good,” I remarked and took another bite.
Before long, the food was gone, and I placed my fork onto the plate and waited for him to acknowledge me. So far, the only one who had laid hands on me was Kendra, so I had to believe that he wasn’t violent like she seemed to be. But I’d lived and maneuvered around men who’d killed for the last five years, so I wasn’t stupid.
Sometimes the most dangerous people were the ones you’d least expect violence from. Bradon looked like he hadn’t done a hard day’s work in his life, but that didn’t mean anything. He could be as dangerous as Devlin, so I had to tread carefully.
“Take your plate to the sink and we’ll take a stroll,” he said, and I stood, carrying the plate to the sink on the other side of the kitchen.
On the counter, I saw a knife, but feeling his eyes on me, I walked away, leaving the weapon in plain view. If he thought I was docile, he might let his guard down, so I played the part but was ready for anything.
Bradon stood and pushed his phone into his pocket before he walked to a door on the far side of the kitchen. I followed him, and when he opened the door and the rush of fresh air hit my face, I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the freedom. The sun was pushing up over the trees, so I was able to determine what direction east was, but without knowing exactly where I was, that wasn’t useful information.
With each step around the opulent yard, I made mental notes of the noises filtering through the dense trees around the yard. I could hear someone laughing and the smell of a grill close by, so I questioned how far away from safety I was.
“Did you go to school around here?” I inquired as we started the second circle around the large yard.
